


shake the mountains while we dance

by croissantkatie



Category: Mary Poppins (1964)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 15:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8850424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/croissantkatie/pseuds/croissantkatie
Summary: When he kisses her cheek, he leaves a smudge of soot behind.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wendymarlowe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendymarlowe/gifts).



> Happy yuletide wendymarlowe!
> 
> Title from The Boys Are Too Refined by The Hush Sound.
> 
> With thanks to f and p for the help and encouragement.

She doesn’t put soot on her face for just _anyone_ you know. Mary got soot on her petticoats once for Bert. He always has been good at bringing out the wicked twinkle in her eye. She is not innocent and naive in the slightest, despite what some may think. One needs only look at some of the tricks she has pulled to realise that. She is only _practically_ perfect, not completely perfect. That would hardly be any fun and Mary, when she is in the right mood, truly and genuinely appreciates fun. Bert saw that right away. He can be incredibly perceptive in his own way. And together they have so much fun.

He brings her marigolds on a Tuesday. Bert has brought her a whole array of small bunches of flowers over the years they have known each other. She keeps one flower from every bunch and decorates her hat with them. They never wilt. The daisy he picked for her, the first flower he ever gave her, remains her favourite. It stands tall and proud at the front of her hat. A little badge displaying her affections which doesn’t mean anything to anyone but herself.

One of these days, maybe, they’ll actually go on holiday together. They can take the train out of the city and away from the smog, go to the seaside. Wander along the promenade, hand in hand just like everyone else. They could take a few days maybe. Really breathe in the fresh air. Mary thinks it might do him good, what with all the soot in his lungs. Sea air is good for that sort of thing. And the thing about a real holiday is it doesn’t run away when it rains. You can just go inside and continue holidaying there instead. It will all be rather ordinary and plain because sometimes something magical can be found in the mundane.

She does not live a stationary life. She is at the mercy of the winds. It is hardly conducive to long term romance. And yet. And yet there is Bert, whose life is equally chaotic, and whilst he is not at the whim of weather patterns, his life follows a certain whimsy. There is no rhythm to his work. Other than, instinctively, being what is needed. That is merely practical. Mary appreciates practicality. Practically perfect in every way after all. They are, the both of them, what is needed.

He understands that she cannot always be there. He understands that he cannot always come first. There’s is a partnership of equals. Mary wouldn’t allow it to be anything less. She has standards for everything, and she holds personal relationships to an even higher standard than her opinions on cleanliness. And her standards of cleanliness are impeccable.

Bert told the children once not to fall over and smudge the drawing. They learned that one from personal experience. Mary may have gotten slightly distracted and forgotten that the world they were visiting was one made of chalk. Bert is in general rather distracting. He is a man very many talents and is particularly good with his hands. Bert is also very good at multitasking. Luckily, one benefit of being in a chalk drawing is that any damage you do to your surroundings isn’t permanent. Another benefit is that it affords them a certain amount of privacy. The only people they are likely to offend are penguins, and if need be, Bert can always leave those details out of the drawing. Sometimes though, that makes it slightly less fun.

They go dancing when they can. Together, they make quite the pair. They spin and spin and spin together until they are giddy with laughter and a foot above the ground. Bert’s posture tends to relax slightly after a couple of minutes but Mary’s remains perfect. She has standards to uphold after all, even when in midair. Their faces and figures blur as they spin faster and faster and faster until they are a blur of colour and almost appear to be one person rather than two. Sometimes Mary wishes they could stay in that whirlwind of mindless joy and delight forever. That, however, is unrealistic. Five minutes of that is enough for her to treasure.

One evening after they’ve been for a walk in the park, Bert drops her back off at the house of the family she is working for at the time. She leans in and kissed him lightly on the cheek, leaving behind a perfect copy of the shape of her mouth in bright red. He blushes slightly before returning the gesture. He leaves behind a smudge of soot, not shaped particularly like anything. Both of them, when they are alone in their own separate rooms, spend a while looking at the marks in their mirrors before washing them off.

Mary can be quite vain. She is unwilling to admit exactly how long she sometimes spends getting ready before she sees Bert. It’s even longer than she normally spends getting ready. She genuinely considers the large, gilt edged mirror she carries in her bag a necessity, as well as the lamp to ensure appropriate lighting. Now though, when she is doing her makeup, it is not only for herself.

Bert can be a gentleman. He can also not be. And he has a knack for knowing when which is appropriate. It’s rather refreshing. Together they can be mischievous or perfectly prim and proper. It all depends on what the situation calls for. Or, more accurately, what Mary decides the situation calls for, which is not always the same thing as what society would consider appropriate. Mary does not always play by society’s rules.

Bert’s grin is irrepressible. He seems wrong somehow when he isn’t smiling. Mary tries to avoid situations which wipe the smile off his face. Luckily, such occasions are rare and Mary does her best to keep them that way.

Together they could be unstoppable. Together, instead, they work everyday miracles


End file.
